Panorama from the top of Capn' Jacks-1/2 mile from Buckhorn Cutoff going down after the "T" mentioned below.
Mountain Biking in the Pikes Peak Region
and Mountain Biking in Colorado Springs
(including links to maps)
Dan M. on Upper Capn' Jacks
We think the Pikes Peak region has some of the best single track in Colorado. As bikers we ride all over Colorado and we know the mountain bike trails match up to anywhere else and are better than most. This is a bold statement, yes, but give it a try and we think you will agree, mountain biking in the Colorado Springs area is GREAT!.
Favorite Day Trip (Epic/Signature Trip)
Well, first let's define mountain biking. To us, Colorado mountain biking is single track and the more the merrier. It also means ..... mountains, and Colorado mountains mean snow, so the "true" mountain biking in Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region is all seasonal (generally mid-April through Thanksgiving-as opposed to mid-mountain towns where it's early June through early October). The exceptions (where you can get the Colorado mountain bike experience all year long) are Palmer Park, Ute Valley, Garden of the Gods and parts of Red Rock Canyon. (We never ride Palmer Park in the summer since we are on it so much in the winter. It features some truly great trails; they are marked, not really clearly, as green, blue and black; similar to ski trails. Black is truly black; there are some gnarly drops and technical sections that we walk, but the elite can ride.)
Mountain Biking in Colorado also means CLIMBING AND DESCENDING, so we we like the trails that go up, up, up and then down, down, down...well, we really like trails that do both...
Our favorite
morning or afternoon workout
is Capn' Jacks ...(if we
had to choose- we
flip between this and
Section 16/Palmer Loop; Jacks is faster, longer and has more jumps on
the DH; on the other hand, Section 16 is more slower because it is more technical-pick your poison). Go
here (Cheyenne Canyon Park Map #1) to
get a map. Park at the #6 spot on the map, pedal through the
tunnel, up the road onto upper Gold Camp Road (closed to vehicles-at the four
way intersection go straight ahead; you are about 1.8 miles from the start); take the Buckhorn
Cutoff trail (about 2.5 miles from where you parked) up to where it "T's" with the Mt. Buckhorn trail (this is four miles from the parking area at the first tunnel.) We like to go left
and do an out and back for another mile. This is Capn Jacks Multi-Use Trail
(although it is referred to as the Buckhorn Trail on the North Cheyenne Canyon
Park Trail Map #1 referenced above) and has some
incredible views of Bear Creek Canyon and North Cheyenne Canyon at the top (see
picture at top of this page). Stop
when the trail dives through a steep gulley to meet the Jones Park/Trail 666
intersection-about 5.1 miles from where you parked). If you are too tired or not
acclimated yet to the altitude, you can forego the out and back and go right (again this is at the "T" at
about 4 miles from the start) and (after
about 2 miles) cross High Drive and continue on the Lower Capn Jacks Trail
back to your car. Classic Colorado mountain biking made extra challenging by the
gravel! This is about a ten mile ride (eight miles without the out and
back) trail and takes about 90 minutes (again, with the out and back at the top)...Read all about
it at
MTBR.com
trail reviews...yes, the motorcycles have
created many gravelly "surf" spots, but it's a great trail...the gravel
is fun and
adds a challenge. (Our tip for "surfing gravel" is to keep the wheels straight and
weight on the back wheel; make turns broad and carry as much speed as you feel
comfortable with through the gravel; brake evenly front and back)...
Surfing the gravel - Capn' Jacks
Ideally, ride it early evening on a weekday after an afternoon thunderstorm.......You climb up Buckhorn Cutoff (no motorcycles allowed) and come down Jacks...a pure classic. You make it an unreal 2.5 hour roundtrip epic by starting at the bottom of the Chutes in Stratton Open space (Ridgeway #5 parking lot on map)...riding up Cheyenne Canyon to Columbine (get on Columbine Trail right behind the Starsmore Center)...up Columbine Trail to Gold Camp Road (Tunnel #2) and then on and up Buckhorn Cutoff , then down Capn' Jacks...down Gold Camp Road and down the Chutes to your car...Pure Colorado Single-Track Heaven! About 1900 vertical feet gained...about 12 miles (we'd guess)....epic bliss...All this is nicely shown on the Cheyenne Canyon Park Map #1. This (Columbine/Buckhorn Cutoff/Capn' Jacks/Chute)s is Epic Ride #2.
Epic Ride #1=Our favorite "classic" mountain biking in Colorado Springs: a day trip (and a true classic it is; some reviewers, us among them, place it near the top of great Colorado trails) is the Jones Park Downhill. Look on the map for Capn. Jacks (see above) and you see a little of the route (you come down Capn Jacks and the Chutes to end up at the Ridgeway Parking lot). We recommend that you get a map for this one...it's not hard to find the route with one, and it is a long way from home if you get lost.
Top of Jones Park
There are many ways to approach this ride (#3 is with a shuttle):
1.Gonzo Rider - This is a true killer FULL day trip in Jones Park ; park at Ridgeway (see below), ride to Starsmore Center, then up Columbine Trail to Gold Camp Road and up Gold Camp Road (about 17 miles) to do Jones Downhill (complete description below). You end up at the bottom of the Chutes, but you will be one whupped puppy after this one! About 4100 feet gained and lost (top is about 10,200 feet.)
Stream Crossing - Jones Downhill
2. Classic Day Trip- Park at the same place as Capn Jacks (click here Cheyenne Canyon Park Map #1); ride onto Gold Camp Road and STAY on Gold Camp Road for about 17 miles (it is an old RR grade so it is not too steep) to Forest Road 379 (across the road from Rosemont Reservoir-well marked). The first (approx.) 11 miles are on Gold Camp which is closed to cars AFTER the High Drive parking lot (this means about 9 miles of no cars). When you meet up with Old Stage Road (for the last 6 miles) you will have vehicular traffic. In other words, you are on a gravel/dirt road where you have vehicular traffic for 2 miles, none for 9 and again for the last 6. After about 17 miles, go right on FR 379 for 1.7 miles to Frosty's Park where the single track starts. There is (see below) a nice map/trail marker there.
Trail marker at start of Jones Downhill-Listed
on sign as Upper Capn' Jacks
The trail down
is an incredible amount of fun. There are some
short climbs
on the single track (and out of Bear Creek
Canyon), but that only
adds to the fun.
Crankcase Alley - Jones Downhill
Basically, once on the trail, stay left on the single track all the way to Jones Park, the first really big meadow you come to; it's after about 4 miles of single track. Here you curve around to the right in the meadow. As you FLY down, there are some side trails to the right and the left, but keep going down until you meet the junction of Trail 666. It is marked as "No vehicular traffic". You will have a decent stream crossing on your right. Cross here and "hike-a-bike" it to the top (1/4 mile or so). Then go downhill again. You are now on what this map (click here : Cheyenne Canyon Park Map #1) shows as Buckhorn Trail, but we know as Upper Capn' Jacks. Follow it down to your car on Gold Camp Road
3. Shuttle Bunny - An easier way is to park one car at the Ridgeway parking lot (mentioned in Capn Jacks review above) and use a shuttle. Drive up Old Stage Road to FR 379 in about 40 minutes (if you have two 4WDs you can drive the additional 1.7 miles to the trail head). You end up (eventually) coming down Capn Jacks which means a short hike-a-bike at the stream crossing where Trail 666 splits off. This way, you ride down Gold Camp Road at the bottom of Capn' Jacks to the cutoff for the Chutes ( a couple of miles; it's the first big right ) and end up at the Ridgeway Parking Lot near Cheyenne Mountain High School. This is about 4100 feet of descending (and there are some ups as well). The high point (start of single track off FR 379) is about 10,200 feet and the elevation of Cheyenne Mountain HS is about 6100 feet. Again, we recommend that you get a map for this one...it's not hard to find the route with one, and it is a long way from home if you get lost.
Rock-hoppin' Rene - Jones DH
Section 16/ Palmer Loop is our second favorite "afternoon workout" trail. Overall, it is very similar to Jacks in time and elevation gained. Check out MTBR.com trail reviews (again) for the description and reviews. We debate constantly which is the best classic Colorado mountain bike trail in the Colorado Springs area (short loop) between this and Capn Jacks. Jacks is a little less technical (although the wimps complain about the gravel, once you know how to ride it, it just adds to the fun and challenge) and the descent is much faster; Section 16/Palmer Loop is more technical on the downhill (more babyheads, drops and tight turns). ...Here is our "poop"...Go up 26th Street south off Highway 24. At the 4 way stop, go right on Upper Gold Camp Road. You will come (less than a mile) to the Section 16 trail head; well-marked on the right. Park here. Ride your bike further along the road (about 1/4 of a mile) to High Drive (stop sign). Go right and begin climbing (you are going the wrong way on a one-way dirt road...no worries). After about 1 mile from where you parked, you will see a trail to the right. The first "trail" is a wash out and egress for the wimps who do this as an out and back and don't descend the technical section at the top. Go 25 yards further and you will see the true beginning of the trail. Hop on the single track (similar in grade to Jacks- again, lovely Colorado mountain bike single track) and start climbing. You have a beautiful little waterfall and log bridge after about 1.5 miles (careful not to biff on the bridge; walk if unsure) about 3/4 of the way up. Our challenge is to see how long we can keep it in the middle chain ring. (Back and forth it goes). About 3/4 of a mile past the waterfall is a "Y". We like to go left, which is a 1.3 mile out and back. It is fairly gradual with only one steep, short climb that we can almost never make. This (out and back) has some beautiful views including an overlook of Ute Pass and Williams Canyon. You come to a big "No Trespassing" (Crystal Park Private Property) sign and here you turn around.
If (similar to Capn Jacks) you are tired or not yet accustomed to the altitude, you can go right at the "Y" and forego the out-and-back. Either way, at this point it is all downhill. The first mile or so is very nice buff single track before a rock band that we have never ridden (the only section that we have not ridden clean; the elite would do it!). This is the start of the technical stuff. You have about a mile of loose scree with occasional areas of baby heads, root drops, tight turns, etc. Whole Lotta Luv! Then the trail levels out and you have nice single track again returning to the car.
Next on the list...Palmer Park is also Colorado Mountain Biking at its best...we recently showed an out-of-stater around Palmer Park and he LOVED it (after we rode Jacks and a couple of others)...we were worried that he would be disappointed because it does not involve big mountains, big vertical. It is a GREAT ride, though....the only problem is that it has taken us many rides to determine the best loop ...we still get lost...which makes it even more fun, but for someone with just one day or morning, you might not get the very best experience it has to offer (you'll still love it)...try to ask a local rider when you get there. The trails are (in general) marked easy, medium and hard (green, blue and black)...Go here for a map. Templeton Trail is an expert trail that is a real kick and a challenge and beautiful to boot. Very "Slick Rock-y" in sections.There are also great medium and easy trails...even kids enjoy the easier trails...
Other mountain biking in Colorado Springs and nearby.....
Garden of the Gods has a short area which is (obviously) very scenic and good for athletic, mountain-biking kids (not enough mileage for a single-track junkie)...just stay off trails that are NOT marked OK for bikes...(Again map links here)
Right nearby to the Garden, the new Red Rock Canyon has a great loop for biking. It is incredibly popular with hikers so go early on a weekday if you want to bike it. (Colorado Springs Parks map here )
Rampart Reservoir (outside of Woodland Park) is a great 14.5 mile loop that is good for intermediate (and above) riders; beginners who are "aggressive" might enjoy it as well...beautiful views of Pikes Peak...Here is a link to directions and a map (this is also a great hiking/running trail).
Monarch Crest (one of the best rides in the state; top 10 in the US) is about 2.5 hours away. This ride is about 30 miles including incredible single-track along the Continental Divide. Although it looks downhill, there is a LOT of uphill at 11,000 feet and this ride is a great work-out. The Poncha Springs Gas Station offers a shuttle (which is the best way to do this - go EARLY). They also have free maps. High Country Shuttle. 800- 871 5145 - (719) 539-6089 . They now have rentals! See new website here .
There are many more lesser-known trails for mountain biking in and around Colorado Springs; but these are the stand-outs. Ask at Old Town Bike Shop or any of the many good shops here for more info.
If you got here in a circuitous manner, go back to the High Adventure by Cog page for hiking opportunities off the Cog Railway.
Jones Downhill
515 Ruxton Ave / PO Box 351 | Manitou Springs, Colorado 80829 | Phone (719) 685-5401 | info@CogRailway.com
